Soft stool - contagious or coincidence?

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arozeboom

arozeboom

Member Since 2011
Last Tuesday, our civvie Midgie started with vomiting and soft stool. No fever, all blood & urine tests came back normal. She also wouldn't eat until we gave her mirtrazapine. Now she still has soft stool but other than that, seems completely fine. No more vomiting, eating and behaving normally.

Yesterday, Ruby started with the soft stool and she just threw up a couple of times, all just a little bit of clear liquid. I tested her BG last night and it was 65. (she's OTJ) She didn't eat as much yesterday as normal, but isn't turning down treats like Midgie did.

The only thing they have in common is that they eat Friskies Special Diet Beef & Chicken (occasionally Turkey & Giblets). They don't even eat the same treats.

I can't imagine this is a coincidence. What could be going on? They are strictly indoor cats.

I did manage to get a stool sample from Ruby, although its covered in Feline Pine litter. I can't get them to use a litter box with no litter in it so I'm not sure how else to go about getting it.

I'm going to call the vet as soon as they open this morning.
 
There may have been a variation in the batch of canned food. If you recall, the values on the cans aren't precise, they speak of "not less than" or "not more than" .... which means they can change what they put in every day, so long as the minimums and maximums are met.

Keep track of those batch numbers, maybe note them on the spreadsheet, so you can see if they correlate.

Also, cans can get dinged and have a small break in the vacuum. This could let the food start to spoil. Make sure that when you open a can, you hear that vacuum hiss as the pressure equalizes. Avoid dented cans when you are able.
 
Could they have gotten into something (food) that they shouldnt? Indoors or outdoors? Have they been in contact with other cats? Here is my story of our "contagious diarrhea"

Tiggy came home after a check up at the vet. 2 days later developed diarrhea. Since he recently had an operation we assumed it was sensitive stomach due to the meds. Then he stopped eating the next day. Vet put him on Flagyl /Metronizadole and the diarrhea stopped. But then a second cat got it. and the third. All three went on Metronizadale.
We changed the food assuming it was the cans.I also wondered if Tiggy had come in contact with something at the vet.. bacteria? fungus? So I cleaned and bleached everything - litter trays, food and water bowls etc.
Then my parents came to visit. Stayed the night. 2 days later their cats got it too!!! We knew then it wasnt the food. Somehow my parents had touched something (probably one of the cats) , gone home and touched one of their cats and it transferred to them.
I bleached everything again but you cant bleach carpets or whole house...you know?! So then Tiggy finished his course of Flagyl and the diarrhea came back. Vet tested his stool for parasites.. nothing. Meanwhile back on the Flagyl. Diarrhea stopped again. We were ready to test for bacteria but Tiggy finished his second round of Flagyl and the issue never came back. I suspect it was a bacteria he picked up at the vet that was being transferred by fur and litter box

So.. summary - could be food, bacteria, parasite or fungus. Metronizadole is good for soft stools. Change the food and bleach (and rinse well) everything. And hope it doesnt come back or you are in for more tests (stool sample and bacteria swab)
 
I did take in the stool sample today and they did give us some Metronidazole.

The husband and I haven't been around other animals in a couple of weeks (we tend to lean towards being hermits). Our girls are strictly indoor and neither has been to the vet since October.
Its always possible that maybe one of us touched something while we were out someplace and then touched the girls. There's no way of knowing, I guess.
 
flagyl has never made my cat sleepy. I really don't think it should. Just in case it is campylobacter I'm not sure that flagyl covers that. Atleast I've never had it prescribed for campy.

Sandy
 
I don't think it's campy. They don't fit any of the risk factors for it.

Both girls seem to have perked up tonight. After one dose of flatly, everything firmed up for both of them.
 
flatly? you mean Flagyl? Thats what happened with my cats too.. and 2/3 of them were fine after the 7 days were done. Meantime I would still clean everything and change the food.
 
Dang auto correct! Yes, Flagyl.

I've cleaned everything and replaced the food, making sure that the lot number was completely different than the old cans.
The girls have eaten more in the last 4 hours than they have in the last 2 days. Midgie gets really amped up on the full dose of mirtrazapine so I gave her a third of that tonight and it seems to do job. They definitely seem on the mend but I'm still keeping a close eye on them.
 
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